Joey Hishon update and other Avalanche prospect news

A quick-hit blog here, talking about some of the Avalanche’s top prospects and how they’re doing this season.
Spent some time of the phone with Avalanche vice president of player development Craig “The Biller” Billington going over his thoughts on several guys.
First off, a bit of news: Billington skated this morning in Cleveland with Joey Hishon, the concussed 2010 Avalanche first-round draft pick. Hishon still has not been cleared to play. But he is with the Lake Erie Monsters on a regular basis now and is skating. Billington says it’s still a “day by day” thing. Really, I don’t want to read anything more into it than that. Nobody should say whether anything is positive or negative regarding Hishon’s condition. Well, I guess it can be classified as positive that he’s on skates and apparently feeling OK. But beyond that, nobody knows still when the talented forward will play again.

The Biller is, by nature, a sunny-side-of-life guy, so he tends to always accentuate the positive with Avalanche prospects. We also know that negativity isn’t a prized possession in Avalanche-land. That said, here is Billington’s assement of some guys, starting with defenseman Stefan Elliott – whose numbers so far with the Monsters have NOT looked positive. 25 games, one goal, three assists, ,-7.
ELLIOTT: “Stats don’t always tell the whole story. I think Stefan has played really well the past few weeks. I saw him last night and I thought he played well. He had a slow start. The American Hockey League is a very good level of hockey and very challenging. He’s still learning. I think he’s on the right side of the curve if you will. It’s going to work out just fine. He’s a good evaluator of his own play. He’ll keep learning.”

TYSON BARRIE: “It’s going well. He’s a dynamic, creative defenseman who has very good hockey sense. Very focused. Ahead of a lot of players in terms of what he knows he has to do away from the rink.”

CALVIN PICKARD, AND OTHER GOALIES IN THE SYSTEM LIKE KENT PATTERSON, KIERAN MILLAN AND SAMI AITTIKALLIO: “I’m very encouraged by what I’m seeing from all of them, and how that position is in our organization right now. They’ve all had their moments. You see all four making strides. It’s all their first year of pro, and it’s not an easy task. But they’re all making contributions.”

MICHAEL SGARBOSSA: “When you lead your OHL team in points and now are putting up points in the AHL, it shows something. His compete level is good. Strong player.”

DUNCAN SIEMENS: “It’s going well again. I’ve seen him a number of times. His team is on a good run right now. His season is getting better and better. He’s challenged himself to work on the areas he needs to work on and has been diligent about it.”

Siemens’ numbers, like Elliott’s, don’t look great. 26 games, one goal, -7. Trouble is, I never get to see any of these kids play until they make their way to Colorado, so I really have nothing to base an opinion on, other than reports from guys like Biller.